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One of 2024’s biggest horror hits, Abigail is now available for home consumption either streaming on Peacock or via digital, Blu-ray or 4K editions which include special features.
If you’re a physical media enthusiast, the Abigail Collector’s Edition doesn’t skimp out on extras, which feature a full film commentary by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (aka Radio Silence) and editor Michael P. Shawyer; a beefy gag reel; deleted and extended scenes; and four featurettes on the making of the movie.
For a little taste of the extra-cool extras, SYFY WIRE watched them all and put together a list of five of our favorite revelations.
5 Abigail Fun Facts We Learned from the Blu-ray Release
1) It took two weeks before Radio Silence shot their first vampire scene for Abigail
It should be no secret that directors shoot their scripts out of order for efficiency, budget, and cast availabilities. In the case of Abigail, directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett said they didn’t actually get to shoot any vampire scene until two weeks into production. Because the film is essentially a mix of heist film meets monster movie, they chose to get a lot of the straight exposition and character introduction scenes covered first, and then moved on to the more complex (and inherently messy) vampire sequences later.
2) Actress Alisha Weir had to train to be a ballerina and speak with an American accent
Surprise! Irish actress Alisha Weir is neither a professional level dancer or an American (or a vampire for that matter). But she sure is convincing in making audiences assume that she’s both in Abigail. For the production, she had dance training with a choreographer and with the stunt coordinator who helped her learn the moves and integrate them into her vampire attacks. English co-star Dan Stevens was even shocked to find out that Weir was from Ireland and learned her flat accent via watching television. No dialect coach needed!
3) Actress Kathryn Newton created her vampire dance sequence and Radio Silence kept all of it in the movie
On the other hand, Kathyrn Newton, who plays Sammy, is a professional dancer who has trained in ballet and dance since she was young. For the sequence where Abigail mentally takes over vampire Sammy’s body and has her perform a bloody dance, Newton and choreographer Belinda Murphy worked out a full dance routine. Newton then presented the three-minute dance to the directors assuming they might capture a piece of it to use in the film. Instead, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett filmed the whole sequence and used all of it to show the power of Abigail and her appreciation of dance as a weapon.
4) Abigail‘s Abattoir sequence featured a real pool with 40 prop bodies
When Sammy falls into that pool of decaying, post meal bodies in the house’s abattoir, we all turned green for her, in solidarity. For Newton, who actually had to perform in that vat for real, we salute her. In the special features, the production team reveals that it was a real pool that was filled with 40 corpse dummies that were dressed to look like real decaying humans. In the “soup” was all manner of material to make the water look putrid.
5) Turns out Abigail’s father does care… sorta
In an extended and deleted scene from the end of Abigail, the surprise appearance of Abigail’s sire, Kristof Lazar (Matthew Goode), was a little longer than what made it to the final cut and a little more emotional too. Throughout the film, Joey (Melissa Barrera) holds herself as the protector and caretaker of kidnapped Abigail. She bonds with what she thinks is a little girl until the vampire reveals herself early on. However, it does become clear that the young(ish) vampire has been left to her own resources for a long time. When Lazar finally appears during the final showdown, the extended scene shows him threaten and mock Joey, and then quietly acknowledge that maybe Abigail has really needed him to be more present than he’s been. In a final show of gallantry, Lazar kisses Joey’s hand goodbye and darkly implies she better get going as “dinner time” is nearing.
Plus, here’s a look at Abigail‘s blooper reel
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